


Appetite

by Skara_Brae



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Forced Bonding, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Special Guest Appearances - Freeform, Werewolves, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-22
Updated: 2013-11-25
Packaged: 2017-12-09 05:32:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/770576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skara_Brae/pseuds/Skara_Brae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Throughout history, there have always been individuals who rose to the top of whatever challenge they were faced, whether it be on the battlefield or in the boardroom. There is a theory that these people are decedents of an older master race, others think that they are merely the next step in evolution. Most alphas are generally contained within tight knit communities.”  She stopped and smiled. “We call them ‘packs.’”</p><p>“Packs? What, like you’re werewolves or something?”</p><p>“Mike, are you picturing me howling at the moon?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This chapter does contain a non-consensual sexual act, taking place while the perpetrator is incapacitated by pheromones. This will be the only non-con event in this story. Thank you!

"And appetite, an universal wolf,  
So doubly seconded with will and power,  
Must make perforce an universal prey  
And last eat up himself. "

William Shakespeare, _Troilus and Cressida (I, iii)._

It had been a long day. Mike and Harvey had been trapped in meetings for most of it; grueling negotiations for a merger of two of the city’s more prominent venture capital firms. They had managed to hammer out an agreement by six p.m. Harvey, in a surprising fit of generosity and openness, had suggested to Mike that they iron out the draft of the agreement at his place over some takeout.

Mike had been surprised at the offer, but he wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to pad around Harvey’s wet dream of an apartment either.

Once he had gotten over gawking at the skyline, and embarrassing himself in Harvey’s private elevator, (and Harvey finished mocking him for it,) they both settled on the couch with the paperwork and some Thai food.

They were practically done when Harvey noticed that he had become somewhat distracted by Mike. Or rather, Mike’s throat. More specifically, the part of his throat where it met his shoulder. Mike had taken his jacket and tie off hours ago, and had also unbuttoned his collar, leaving the delicate skin of his slender neck exposed. He arched it now, and rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension that had gathered from leaning over the coffee table.

Harvey frowned, and tried to bring his focus back to the partnership agreement. But he kept stealing glances over at the younger man sitting beside him. It took him far too long to realize what was happening. When it hit him, he practically reeled backwards in shock. Not now. How could this be happening now? It had been years since… But there was saliva pooling in his mouth, he was achingly hard in his pants and he couldn’t stop staring at Mike’s neck.

He ripped his gaze away from Mike and bolted up from his seat on the couch. Mike startled at the sudden movement, and dropped the pages he was holding. Harvey bolted past Mike’s chair and into the small guest bathroom in the hallway. He locked himself in with shaking fingers. Oh god, not here, not now.

“Harvey?” He could tell from Mike’s voice that he has gotten up and was standing right outside the door. “Harvey, is everything okay?”

It took Harvey a minute before he could summon up the energy to answer. He swallowed hard. “We’re done for tonight. Go home.” He noted absently that his voice was shaking.

Mike, of course, could not just listen him. “Are you alright? Was it the food?”

Harvey turned on the cold tap and spit into the sick. He could picture Mike, his blue eyes wide with concern, standing outside the door. Harvey's palms were itching. He splashed cold water on his face. He needed Mike out of the apartment. Actually, he needed Mike on the other side of the city, but he hoped once he’s out of the apartment it will be enough. This was a mistake, bringing Mike here, into his space. A huge mistake. A physical pain ripped through him and he barely managed to stop from crying out. He slowly sank down onto the floor.

~*~*~*~

Mike stood outside of Harvey’s bathroom door, wondering what he should do. Harvey told him to leave, but should he leave someone who was clearly ill?

Mike’s rational brain told him that it was probably just food poisoning, and he should go to avoid embarrassing Harvey. But what if Harvey passed out and hit his head or something?

“Harvey?” Mike knocked again.

There was a loud bang, and Harvey’s voice, clearly strained, shouted out, “Out, Mike! Get out. I—I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Okay. Mike didn’t want to make Harvey any angrier by arguing with him. He slowly retreated back to the couch. He picked up the files and pushed them into his messenger bag along with his laptop, then took the empty take out containers to the kitchen to throw them away. He threw their forks into the sink, and then headed back into the living room. He watched the bathroom door for a moment before he pulled on his jacket and threw the messenger bag over his shoulder. He was headed for the door when he heard the door to the bathroom open again.

He spun around. “Hey, are you okay?”

When he turned around, he was slightly started to find Harvey standing much closer than he had expected. How had he moved across the room so quickly and quietly?

“Are you feeling—“ Mike started to repeat, but Harvey tilted his head in response to his voice and something in Mike’s stomach dropped unpleasantly. Harvey’s face was blank, but there was something different about his eyes. Something predatory.

 _That’s not Harvey_ , Mike thought wildly, even though his rational mind knew that was insane. But Harvey was standing strangely, his hands fisted at his sides, and his head is cocked in such a way as to make Mike’s breath quicken. He suddenly knew how a rabbit felt when it was being stalked by a fox.

Harvey still hasn’t said anything, and for a few long moments they both just stared at each other. Mike tried to say something, anything, but his throat was suddenly dry and he couldn’t seem to force any words out. And all the while, tension was building in the room, building until it suddenly became unbearable and Mike turned and sprinted for the door.

He heard Harvey give a kind of growl behind him, and it sent a chill up his spine. He dashed through the hallway and made it into the foyer. He was about two feet from the front door when his messenger bag was grabbed from behind and he was sent sprawling onto the marble floor. Before he managed to push himself up there were hands on him, stripping off the bag and flipping him onto his back. And then Harvey’s heavy weight dropped on top of him.

“Get off – ugh!” Mike struggled, He was pushed his feet into the floor, trying to gain some sort of leverage, but Harvey had him effectively pinned. He was strong. Mike knew he was strong but right now he almost seemed superhuman. Soon, both his hands were pinned above his head by just one of Harvey’s, while his other tore open Mike’s shirt, causing buttons to fly everywhere.

Harvey growled with satisfaction when he succeeded in baring Mike’s chest, his eyes filling with a strange sort of light. Mike’s stomach twisted, panic filling him. Harvey leaned down and began licking Mike’s neck. Mike’s racing thoughts effectively shorted out at the sensation. Because this…this could not be happening, right? This had to be some kind of strange lucid nightmare. He is not pinned to the floor of his boss’s penthouse and being licked…

He pushed ineffectively again, and Harvey growled in response. Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through his neck and Mike screamed. Harvey had just _bit_ him. What the hell?

He suddenly found himself like a puppet whose strings have just been cut. His clawing hands and kicking feet dropped to the floor without any conscious thought. He still felt everything, the pain in his neck, his heart pounding, but he was suddenly overtaken by a strange kind of languor. He could barely keep his eyes open.

Harvey was purring about him now, low throaty satisfied growls. He pulled back, and Mike forced his eyes open to see Harvey’s lips smeared with his blood. He had released Mike’s hands, but Mike couldn’t will them to move. Harvey wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him to his feet. Mike’s legs barely had the strength to hold him upright and he fell against Harvey’s chest, causing another pleased growl. Harvey half-walked, half-carried him into his bedroom. Mike forced his eyes open for the trip, hands attempting to clutch ineffectually at Harvey’s back.

They reached Harvey’s bed, and the way Harvey laid him on it was surprisingly gentle. With tremendous effort, Mike managed to push himself up onto his elbows and stared. Harvey was standing over him, just staring down at him.

“Harvey,” Mike croaked, “What… Why…”

There was no answer. Harvey crawled up on the bed next to him.

Mike’s arms would not hold him up anymore. He flopped back on the bed and felt Harvey pulling at his belt, stripping off his pants and underwear and shoes. Then he crawled back up the bed and pulled Mike’s ruined shirt and jacket from his shoulders and tossed them away, leaving Mike naked except for his socks. Harvey straddled Mike’s hips as he pulled off his own shirt.

He ran his hands down Mike chest almost reverently.

Mike closed his eyes. It wasn’t like he hadn’t fantasized about this before. But this was wrong. Harvey wasn’t acting like himself. Mike was freaked out and in pain and Harvey didn’t even seem to notice. What the hell was going on?

Harvey’s hands gripped Mike’s hips and he began to press kisses down Mike’s sternum and over his belly.

“No, Harvey, stop please…”

Harvey nosed through Mike’s pubic hair and then wrapped his lips around his cock. A full-body shudder ran through Mike’s body as Harvey began to lap and suck.

“Oh god, oh god…”

Unbelievably, Mike found that he was actually getting hard. Harvey’s skilled lips and tongue were working him expertly, and Mike’s hips were now moving in slow jerks in response.

It was not long before Mike cried out sharply and spilt himself down Harvey’s throat. Harvey let out a pleased growl at this and pulled back, lapping at the tip of Mike’s cock until he had gone soft again.

He rolled off Mike and stripped off his own slacks and underwear. Then crawled back up Mike’s body and carefully rested his weight on top of him, burying his face in Mike’s neck and slowly thrusting his own erection against Mike’s hip. It didn't take long before he growled loudly, and Mike felt a wet heat paint his stomach. Harvey then collapsed on top of Mike.

Mike squirmed under Harvey’s heavy weight, but he still lacked the energy to push the other man off. A low snore sounded in his ear. Mike was incredulous. Harvey was just going to sleep? Mike was still bleeding, herealized, all over Harvey’s expensive sheets. What the hell had just happened? His mind was foggy. He couldn’t make sense of anything. He was suddenly echausted. So so tired. He made one more attempt to push Harvey off of him before he was dragged down into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

" We humans fear the beast within the wolf because we do not understand the beast within ourselves."

Gerald Hausman

Mike woke with a jolt. He had been having the strangest dream. He blinked as he took in the early morning light through the glass walls. What had happened? Where was he, even?

He heard a low snore beside him and it all came rushing back to him. Harvey. He clapped a hand to the side of his neck and was rewarded by a sharp pain knifing through him. Oh god. He turned to his left and saw Harvey, still apparently dead to the world next to him.

Mike scrambled quietly out of the bed. He was relieved when Harvey didn’t even stir in response. He pulled on his pants and got into his shoes quickly. He found his shirt in the hallway, but it was ruined; ripped and the buttons had been torn off. Cursing, he looked around. He could just go without it, but he still has to move through the early morning crowds to get home. He crept back into Harvey’s room and grabbed Harvey’s discarded shirt. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled in on and hastily buttoned it. Harvey’s scent was so strong that his knees nearly buckled. He took a moment to gather himself, then headed out the door. When he looked back over his shoulder, Harvey was still sleeping peacefully.

He collected his bag from the foyer, pulled on his suit jacket and darted out into the hallway.

By some miracle he managed to hail a cab right outside of Harvey’s building.

As the cab pulled away from the curb, the driver caught his eyes in the rearview mirror. “You okay, dude?”

He was staring at Mike’s neck.

“I’m fine,” Mike responded tersely, and the cabbie didn’t ask again.

When they finally got to his place, Mike threw some bills at the cabbie, and ran up the stairs to his apartment. When he got there, he closed himself in the bathroom and finally got a good look at his neck in the mirror.

It’s bad.

Blood is smeared all over his neck. No wonder the cabbie was staring. Mike dabbed at it with a wet facecloth and uncovered a clear outline of teeth.

Mike’s knees went weak. He sat down on the bathroom floor and wondered what he should do. His mind cycled rapidly through his options.

Call the police? And tell them what? That his mentor had attacked him? Could he have Harvey arrested, after everything Harvey had done for him? And Harvey hadn’t been himself last night, Mike was sure of that. Something had happened, even though Mike was sure that Harvey had only drank two beers as they had worked their way through the Thai food.

No, no police.

Should he maybe…talk to Harvey about it? Mike wondered how that conversation would go. “Hey, remember last night when you bit me and blew me then rubbed off on me? What the hell was that about?”

Yeah, no.

After about ten more minutes of contemplation, Mike arrived on a game plan: Pretend it had never happened.

He pulled himself off the floor and into the shower, wincing when the hot water beat down on the fresh wound. He could do that. It wouldn’t be hard. He would just go into work and pretend that everything was normal, and after a while, it would be again.

That’s right, Mike though.

~*~*~*~

Harvey Specter woke up with an energy he could not remember having in years. He felt like he could hop out of bed go for a fifteen mile run, and go to court and wipe the floor with whatever poser had the nerve to face him.

He pulled himself out of bed and tried to remember why he felt so good. Had he just won a case? Signed a major client?

He stretched and padded into the bathroom. As he headed for the shower, he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. His blood ran cold. There was blood smeared all over the bottom half of his face. In that instant, it all came crashing back on him.

Mike.

Harvey doubled over like he had received a physical blow. Mike had been here and he had lost control. He had tried to warn Mike but he hadn’t gotten out of the apartment in time. And now… Harvey’s brain shorted out at the implications. Oh god, what had he done?

He ran out of the bathroom and checked the rest of the apartment, but aside from the blood on the sheets, there was no sign of Mike. He was gone. _Of course_ he was gone. Mike was out there, somewhere in the city, probably alone and probably terrified.

Harvey squeezed his eyes shut. What was he going to do?

After the fastest shower and shave of his life, Harvey pulled on the first suit in his closet and hailed a cab to take him to the office. As the doors opened on the 35th floor, Harvey knew. Mike was here. Harvey shook his head. Somehow it wasn’t surprising that Mike had come to work.

Harvey deliberately pushed that knowledge away as he walked towards his office.

Donna looked up as he walked by her desk. “Harvey—“

“Clear my morning,” he barked. "I need to talk to Jessica.”

Donna’s eyebrows rose at that order.

He threw his briefcase on his couch and then turned, making a beeline for Jessica’s office. He heard Donna say something behind him but he didn’t care enough to try to make it out.

Jessica’s secretary tried to stop him from barging into her office, saying she was on a teleconference, but Harvey didn’t wait. Jessica raised her eyebrows at him as he walked in and sat down, but she didn’t say anything.

Even Harvey wouldn’t dare interrupt her.

“So, Alan,” Jessica said to the speakerphone on her desk. “Are we all set for our meeting on the 19th?”

“Sure thing, Jessica,” the voice on the phone responded. “I’ll see you then.”

“Thank you, Alan.”

She stabbed the call button with one perfectly manicured fingernail. She looked over at Harvey, who was still sitting motionless in the chair.

“I assume you have a reason for barging in here like this?”

Harvey opened his mouth, but for once, words completely failed him. Finally, with a quick glance behind him to make sure the door was closed, he choked out “I bit someone last night.”

There was no reaction on Jessica’s face, but her posture became a little stiffer. “Okay,” she said after a moment. “I am assuming this wasn’t a voluntary, mutual thing.”

Harvey shook his head.

“Christ.” Jessica leaned forward and put her elbows on the desk. “You lost control?”

Harvey nodded again. “It…that…I’d never felt like that before. It was like I was standing outside of myself, watching. And even then…”

Jessica buried her face in her hands for a moment. Then snapped back up, in full control once again.

“Okay, well, we need to get in contact with this person. I trust you got a name or a phone number?”

Before Harvey could summon the will to answer her, to tell her the truth, there was a perfunctory knock at the door and Louis Litt came strolling in.

“Not now, Louis.” Jessica said sternly. “Harvey and I have a serious personal matter to discuss.”

Louis treated them both to one of his shit-eating grins. “Oh, yes, another secret meeting. But I have a feeling I know what it’s about this time. Mike Ross?”

“It’s not about Mike Ross--” Jessica began, but stopped when she saw Harvey’s face. “Oh my god, it was Mike Ross?”

“I knew it!” Louis cried gleefully. He turned to Harvey. “He had your stink all over him. What are you thinking, letting him come to work?” His eyes narrowed. “Has he even been presented to the Council?”

“I didn’t … I mean, it was an accident.”

Louis’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit,” Louis gasped. “You mean he didn’t…”

“That’s enough, Louis.” Jessica cut in. “Harvey and I are going to be dealing with this. You can go and get Mr. Ross and bring him here. We will discuss it with him.”

Louis still looked stunned as he walked out the door. Jessica immediately picked up her phone. “Jerry, I need you to get a hold of Dr. Pamela Barnes. Her number is in my personal contacts. Tell here there has been an emergency, and I need her to get over here as soon as possible. Thank you.” She dropped the phone back on the receiver with a noisy clatter.

Harvey had gotten up and wandered over to the window. He was staring out at the views of Central Park.

“Mike Ross,” Jessica said. “Well, I suppose I should have guessed. You were at your place?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sleeping together?”

At this question, Harvey turned. “Of course not! He’s been panting after that pretty paralegal since he got here. We were working on the paperwork for the merger.”

“But in was in your place. Had he ever been there before?”

Harvey thought for a moment. “No. Not really.”

“Hmm.” Jessica twisted her lips. “Did he struggle?”

Harvey sighed. “Not after the bite.” He turned back to the window.

“Do you think –“

“I don’t know.”

They sat in silence until Louis brought Mike in.


	3. Chapter 3

" He who cannot howl will not find his pack"

Charles Simic

Mike thought he was doing a very good job of Not Freaking Out. He had showered, slapped a bandage on his neck, put on a fresh suit, made it to work, and even remembered to bring the files that he and Harvey had been working on last night.

He had left the files on Donna’s desk and then buried himself in his cubicle. He had grabbed a pile of Louis’s briefs and was proofing them without even being ordered too.

A few of the other associates had noticed the bandage peeking out from his collar, and teased him about needing to cover up a hickey.

“Who was it Mike? Don’t tell me you finally hooked up with Zane. She looks like a biter.” This from Kyle, the asshole.

Mike refused to even look up. “Not like you’d know, right?”

Luckily, Louis had slithered by, so everyone suddenly went quite.

Louis came up to Mike’s cubicle, but before he said anything, a quizzical expression came over his face. “Mike, anything you want to tell me?”

Mike looked up, surprised. “What? No.”

Louis’s nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. “Hmmm.” But he didn’t say anything else, just turned on his heel and walked away.

Mike was suddenly even more self-conscious after. He had to actively resist touching his neck, to make sure that the bandage was still in place.

After a half an hour, Louis returned. “Mike, Jessica’s office. Now.”

Mike felt the blood drain from his face as he stood up. What now? What else could possibly happen to him this week? He felt the stares from the other associates. They all probably thought he was getting fired. Maybe he was?

Surprisingly, Louis’s face softened a bit. “She, uh, she just needs to talk to you about the Sarkozy merger.” He slapped a hand on Mike’s shoulder as they headed down the hall together. Mike fought to contain his wince. The Sarkozy merger had been resolved weeks ago. He doubted it was the reason he was being called into the Managing Partner’s office.

As they rounded the corner and Jessica’s door was in sight, he suddenly knew, _knew_ somehow that Harvey was in her office as well.

He was tempted to turn around and flee down the hallway, but he forced each step out as he followed Louis into the office. He saw Harvey right away. He was standing with his back to them, looking out at the magnificent views. He didn’t turn around as Mike came in.

“Mr. Ross,” Jessica said, “Please take a seat.” She gestured to a chair in front of her desk. Mike sat, stealing another glance at Harvey’s back.

“Thank you, Louis. That will be all.” Louis opened his mouth, perhaps to protest, but apparently changed his mind. The door closed behind him.

Jessica turned back to Mike, “Now, Harvey has told me there was a bit an incident last night. I think we need to have a talk about it.”

Mike felt a flare of anger that Harvey would have gone to Jessica with this before even talking to him about it. “Ms. Pearson…Jessica, I’d rather not talk about it, okay? I am not interested in … pressing charges or anything. I’d really just like to go back to work.”

Jessica glanced at Harvey’s back. He was still unmoving. She nodded. “I understand that you feel that way. However, I am afraid there is more to it than that.”

“Why?” Mike was angry now. “I am not sure why you are involved in this at all.” He got up from his chair. “Whatever happened was between Harvey and me. I don’t understand why you are here talking to me about this when—“

“Sit down, Mike.” The words were spoken with Jessica’s quiet authority, and Mike had no choice but to comply.

Mike sat. Jessica sighed, and then turned to Harvey and said, “Harvey, it might be best if you left. Please. I’d like to talk to Mike alone.”

Harvey turned and walked out of the room, pointedly not looking at Mike on his way out. Mike had never seen him obey one of Jessica’s orders without a word before. It seemed wrong to see him so cowed.

Mike watched Harvey walk out the door and then turned back to Jessica to find her regarding him. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair.

“Mike,” she began, “Before we start, are you in any pain right now?”

Mike was a bit surprised at the question. “Uh, from, you mean…?” He gestured to his neck.

She nodded. “Yes, from the bite.”

“No, it just aches a little.”

“A good friend of mine is on her way here. She’s a doctor and I’d like you to let her take a look at it, if that’s okay?”

Mike squirmed. “Okay.”

“Good. But before she gets here, I think there are a few things that need to be explained to you. About what happened last night.”

The anger surged up in Mike again. “Why are you explaining it to me? Shouldn’t Harvey be the one explaining it? Or, you know, apologizing?”

“You’re angry, Mike. That’s understandable”

“Damn right, I’m angry. I--”

“I am sure Harvey will apologize,” Jessica went on over him. “But as far as explaining, only I can do that.”

Mike blinked at this bizarre statement. “What?”

Jessica gave him a ghost of a smile. “Harvey’s not authorized to tell you what I am about to.”

Mike sat back in his chair. “Okay, you’ve lost me.”

“Mike, you have heard of the expression ‘alpha’ before, correct?”

“Alpha?” Mike was bewildered. “Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet? Alpha particle? Two protons and two neutrons carrying a charge of +2 and strongly interacting with matter.”

Jessica smiled at this recitation. “Try in an ethological sense.”

Mike paused for a moment. “In social animals, the alpha is the individual in the community with the highest rank. There’s the whole social construct about Alpha males and -- ”

“Okay, very good.” Jessica shook her head slightly, “Perhaps I should just start at the beginning. Mike, you’re very well read. You know that throughout history, there have always been singular individuals who rose to the top of whatever challenge they were faced, whether it be in the boardroom, or on the battlefield.”

“Yes…”

“And you know that there are those that propose that these people are decedents of an older master race, while others think that they are merely the next step in evolution, those that are fit –“

“What, like the Übermensch? …Or the Lizard people”

Jessica blinked. “Lizard people?”

“You know, shape-shifting reptilian people that control society through political power? “

“Reptilians.” Jessica pressed a hand to her forehead. “No, not reptilians, Mike.”

“Okay, whatever. Jessica, this is a fascinating discussion, but what does this have to do with why I am here?”

“Everything, Mike. I’m telling you this because these are not just theories, there really are people with greater abilities and talents out there in the world. In fact, they are several of us within this very firm”

Mike raised his eyebrows. “Us?’ So you are telling me that you and Harvey are part of some special breed of humans and that’s why he bit me.” Mike anger sparked again, “Are you telling me that makes it okay? That you can do whatever you want?”

“Of course not, Mike. I am trying to explain. For all our special abilities, we are also extremely dependent on our biology. Sometimes there is an uncontrollable biological override to our natural reasoning process. We can go into zones and become… primal.”

There was suddenly a strange light in Jessica’s eyes that Mike had to look away from. Primal was a good word to describe Harvey last night. “So why don’t we hear about people going around biting other people more often.”

“Because it is very rare. We are very rare.” She stopped and smiled. “We live in secret, Mike, contained within tight knit communities . Only pack leaders are allowed to disclose what I am telling you to non-members.”

“Packs? What, like you’re werewolves or something?”

“Mike, are you picturing me howling at the moon?” Jessica raised her eyebrows.

No, he couldn’t. He could, however, picture her dancing naked underneath it. Maybe while performing some ancient ceremony chanting rhythmically. Mike shook his head. Maybe he was delirious. Shock. That was a thing, right? He was clearly in shock.

Jessica was going on. “But, yes. I believe that we are the origin of the shapeshifter legends. No one alive today can transform, but there is evidence that our ancestors could. That ability was lost as we interbred with humans.”

“Werewolves,” Mike muttered. “Could this get any weirder?”

“We are a small percentage of the population, and bites do not normally occur outside of committed relationships. The urge usually only comes when there is a very close relationship between two people.”

“Close?”

“You can’t deny that you and Harvey are very close.”

Well, Mike guessed they were, even considering Harvey’s efforts to keep him at arm’s length. “So what-“

He was interrupted by a knock at the glass door. They both looked up to see a young woman with long dark hair and a sunny smile walk into the room.

Jessica stood. “Pam, so good to see you.” The two women embraced, and exchanged a rather long kiss on the lips that had Mike raising his eyebrows.

“Been way too long,” Pam replied when she pulled back. She turned to Mike. “And who is this?”

“Michael Ross, one of my associates.” Mike shook the offered hand perfunctorily. “This is Dr. Pamela Barnes, a good friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Silence fell for a moment before Jessica prompted, “Mike, Pam needs to look at your neck.”

Mike felt himself flush. He looked around at the glass walls and the people walking by in the hallways. “Here?”

“You can use my bathroom.” Jessica gestured to a door

Mike headed into the bathroom and sat down on the closed toilet lid. He looked around and chuckled to himself. This bathroom was nicer than the one in his apartment, he thought, as he looked over the glass encased shower and marble sink.

Pam had followed him into the room. Mike slowly pulled off his tie and began to undo the first few buttons of his shirt. He pulled back his collar to reveal the bandage on his neck. Pam tutted as she leaned over him and gingerly pulled it off.

Mike watched her face as she examined the bite. “Looks pretty clean. Okay, I am just going to clean it with some antiseptic.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle along with some clean cotton pads. “This might sting a little.”

Mike winced as she began cleaning his neck with slow even strokes. “So, do you deal with this kind of thing all the time? I mean, you seem kind of blasé about the whole thing.”

Pam smiled. “I’ve dealt with a few. Mating bites usually heal on their own once the bonding is complete.”

Mike jerked away. “Mating bites? What are you talking about?”

Jessica appeared in the doorway. “Mike and I hadn’t gotten to that part yet,” she said ruefully.

She and Pam exchanged a look, and Pam busied herself with spreading some kind of ointment on his neck.

Jessica sighed. “Tell me about the bite.”

“Minimal tearing, no signs of resistance,” Pam reported.

“What does that mean?” Mike asked.

“Once you were bitten, you didn’t resist. No signs of struggle.”

Mike felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. “I didn’t fight. So I deserved it? This is my fault?”

Pam’s head snapped to his face, “No, Mike. Of course not.” She wrapped an arm around him and stroked his back. “I take it this wasn’t a planned mating?”

“Mating? Why do you keep using that word? I don’t--”

Jessica took a few steps into the room and pressed a glass into his hand. Scotch. Even though was only ten in the morning, Mike brought the glass to his lips and took a gulp. The amber liquid burned in its way down, but it seemed to center him a bit. He took another sip.

“Biting is generally a precursor to the mating process,” Pam explained. “Was there any sexual contact after the bite?”

Mike looked away and refused to answer.

“Mike,” Pam hesitated and bit her lip. “Was it penetrative?”

Mike shook his head.

He heard Jessica draw her breath. “Will the bond hold if there is no further contact?” she asked.

Pam shrugged her shoulders. “Depends on the relationship.” She snapped open another section of her bag. “Mike, I am also going to draw some blood. This should help us establish your status.”

“Status? What status?”

They both ignored him. Pam turned to Jessica. “How are you going to inform the Council?”

“The Council?” Mike asked incredulously. “Seriously? Have I fallen into a comic book?”

He was ignored again. Jessica said firmly, “They meet in three weeks. I will apprise them of the situation then.”

Pam’s eyes widened. “You want to wait three weeks? Jessica--”

Jessica’s mouth tightened . “Pamela, I know. But we need to figure out what happened first. And what the consequences are.”

Pam looked away.

“Consequences?” Mike asked.

Jessica sighed. “It’s possible that when Harvey bit you, he initiated a mating bond. This would bind you both together for the rest of your lives.”

 _The rest of your lives._ The words echoed in Mike’s brain. “Why would Harvey do that?”

“He didn’t want to. He lost control of himself. It’s very rare, but it has happened before. They call it a Frenzy. The factors that cause it are not really understood.”

“There was a case last year,” Pam offered. “ In Los Angeles. An Alpha, a government agent, experienced a Frenzy and bonded with an Omega while working on an covert assignment. She thought he was a drug runner, but he turned out to be an undercover cop. They both thought they’d accidently bonded with a criminal.”

“Omega?” Mike questioned. “What the hell is an Omega?”

“Omegas similar to Alphas.” Jessica explained. “Descendants of the same race. Omegas and Alphas are generally very attractive to each other, and form strong bonds. It’s possible that someone in your bloodline was an Omega. If that is the case, it might be that is what triggered Harvey to…” She trailed off.

“Attack me?” Mike said blandly. “So that makes it okay?”

“No, Mike” Pam said again. “But it is a contributing factor. It’s possible it could mitigate the penalties involved.”

Mike sat up. “Penalties? Harvey could get in trouble for what he did to me? How much?” Dismay was curling in his stomach.

Pam said somberly “Biting a human without proper permission and consent is considered a capital crime. Death is a possible punishment”

Mike bolted to his feet. “What!? Death? Are you saying you would actually kill him?” He was forced to sit down again as his knees gave out. “You—Your Council kills people?!”

“Mike,” Jessica gripped his arm. “It’s a possible punishment. The harshest. And it’s very unlikely that it would be carried out in this case. Harvey didn’t have control over himself, and you didn’t resist.”

Mike was still breathing hard. “You kill people?” he repeated.

Pam sighed. “We still exist only because we keep ourselves secret, Mike. Exposing our society to the greater world is a high-crime.”

“We won’t be exposed this time.” Jessica said firmly. “Mr. Ross would not. He has secrets of his own.”

Mike couldn’t argue with her there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about the delay with this chapter. I upgraded to Windows 8 on my computer and it wiped out my Microsoft Office. Cue much wailing and grinding of teeth. Anyway, it put a definite crimp in my writing. Hopefully I will be on track again soon!
> 
> As always, any comments welcome!

"The wolf is neither man's competitor nor his enemy. He is a fellow creature with whom the earth must be shared."

L. David Mech

Harvey stalked back to his office, concentrating only on putting one foot in front of the other. He didn’t want to think about what could be going on In Jessica’s office; didn’t want to think about Mike. He heard the accusation in Mike’s tone, had felt his disappointment and anger when Harvey had refused to meet his eyes. He had hurt Mike, and now he had no idea what to do.

Donna looked up as he strode into his office. He collapsed at his desk and heard the door open.

“Not now, Donna.”

“Harvey, I am supposed to be your eyes and ears here. How can I be your eyes and ears when I don’t know what’s going on?”

This was true. He looked up and met her eyes.

“I bit Mike Ross last night. On the neck. While he was at my place.”

He catalogued the changing expressions on her face. Shock, then hurt (He felt a pang. He’d thought she’d gotten over that long ago), then fear. Fear for him, he knew.

“Oh god,” she breathed. “Harvey, what—“

“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He stared at the file on his desk without seeing it.

“Well, Mike… Mike would never want… Harvey, how could this happen?”

“Donna.” His voice was hard. “Not now.”

He didn’t look up again until he heard the door close behind her.

~*~*~*~

Sometime later, Jessica walked into his office.

“I sent Mike home for a few days,” she said, taking a seat. “Pam thinks there is a chance the bite will heal on its own.”

Harvey met her eyes doubtfully. “How much of a chance?”

“You tell me.”

Harvey looked away.

Jessica sighed. “You don’t think it will heal if you two are apart. You think you are already bonded.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I… I feel different, but maybe it’s just guilt—“

“You feel different,” she repeated, eyes wide. “God, Harvey--”

“I know.” He got up out of his chair and went to stand by the glass wall. He stared outside.

“Well, you need to go to him. Convince him to stand by you through this, make arrangements to –“

“Not yet,” Harvey interrupted. He pushed his hands into his pockets. “I’ll wait a few days. If Pam thinks there’s a chance he could walk away from this, I owe it to him to be sure.”

Jessica was silent for a moment. Then she got up and stood beside him. For a moment, they were both silent, looking out over the city. “Have you considered that he may not want to walk away from you?”

He laughed bitterly. “After what I did to him? We’re lucky he didn’t go right to the police.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Harvey looked at her incredulously.

She shook her head. “He owes you a great deal, and he’s very loyal. He was confused by your actions, and scared, but he still came here this morning. I think that says a lot.”

He contemplated this for a moment, and then shook his head. “It just means he had no one else to go to.”

“That means something too, then. Maybe he needs you.” She pursed her lips. “Or us. If he does turn out to be an Omega, we have to bring him into the fold, you know. Bond or no bond.”

“Is that what Pam thinks? That’s he’s an Omega?”

“Maybe not full-blooded, but something triggered you. He knew very little about his mother’s family. We can have someone start researching, but the blood will tell.” She gave him a side glance. “Same as with you.”

Harvey snorted in response.

Jessica turned and headed for the door. “I’ll let you know as soon as the results are back. Then we can start planning out how we are going to present this to the Council.” She turned back. “And, Harvey? Take care of yourself. We are going to work this out.”

~*~*~*~

Mike figured that he would have been totally justified in going home and getting baked. But he was not quite as self-destructive as he used to be, so he settled for getting a six pack of beer and drinking his way through it.

The events of the past day still seemed surreal to him when he thought about it, but the physical ache in his neck assured him that he had not imagined it. He got up and paced around his apartment. What was Harvey doing right now? He’d had a dinner with a potential client on his calendar. Did he cancel it? Or was it out wining and dining someone right now? Was he even thinking about Mike?

He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Jessica had told him he could have the next few days off, but he’d offered to help Harold proof some briefs, so he’d grabbed them off of his desk as he left. He’d grabbed a few of Harvey’s files too. At least he would have something to occupy his mind. Sighing, he picked up a highlighter and started doing his job.

~*~*~*~

A few days later, Mike stared at himself in the mirror. The bite had not healed at all, despite his following all of Pam’s instructions. It fact, it looked even more inflamed, black lines emanating from it.  
He read all of the material that Pam had given him, including a rather frightening essay on “Bites and their Causes.” He had tried to google more information on the internet. Most of what he had found was just nonsense; just the normal superstitions. He did find a couple of vague references to a secret society of super-humans, but they were all mostly on those freaked out conspiracy theory websites.

He sighed. The past few days had been awful. He tried to force himself to concentrate on work, but he kept thinking about Harvey. About the time that Harvey had come by his place, to take him to Atlantic City, and then after his grandmother died.

Well, it was time to face Harvey. He pulled on a pair of jeans, a shirt and wrapped a scarf around his neck. He could imagine what Harvey would say about his hipster attire.

At the office, he was headed towards his desk to drop off the files when Harold spotted him, his eyes widening comically.

“Mike,” he exclaimed. “Hey how are you doing? How’s everything going? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Mike replied. He noted how Harold’s eyes were immediately drawn to his neck, now covered by the scarf.

“Really? I mean, if you ever want to talk or anything, I just want to know that I’m here for you.” Harold patted Mike gently on the sleeve.

“Um, okay, Harold. Thanks.”

“Everyone felt really bad about kidding you the other day about…” Harold let his hand drift up to his own neck. “We didn’t mean anything by it. When we heard want happened—“

Mike felt his heart rate spike as panic set in. “You know what happened? Who told you?”

Harold’s eyes grew even wider. “No one!” he exclaimed. “Just, you were called into Jessica’s office and Kyle was in the lobby when the doctor lady came in. He tried to flirt with her and she told him she had an emergency. Work is hard, I know. Working for Harvey must stress you out, and I can’t begin to understand what you, um, have going on…but you know…you have so much going for you and—“

“Harold,” Mike interrupted, a sinking feeling in his chest, “What do you think happened?”

“Hey, the stress can get to us all, but I mean, you have so much to live for! And you know,” he lowered his voice dramatically, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. There is no reason to get drastic because--”

“Thanks, Harold.” Mike resisted the urge to bury his face in his hand. “I’m… I’m feeling much better now.”

Harold’s boyish face brightened. “Great!”

“I have to go see Harvey. Can you take these for me?” Mike pushed the files into Harold’s arms and walked away without waiting for a reply.

~*~*~*~

Donna looked surprised when she saw him approaching her desk.

“Mike,” she gasped. “How are you doing?”

“Hi Donna,” Mike said. “I need to see him.”

Donna paled. “Are you sure you want to do that now?”

Mike didn’t respond. He just pulled the door open and walked in. Donna did not try to stop him.

Harvey looked up as Mike came in. Mike could tell Harvey was not surprised by the sight of him in the office. Either someone had warned him that Mike was in the building, or he had just known. Felt it, somehow, the same way that Mike had known Harvey was here.

Harvey still looked a bit wary though, as if he expected Mike to start yelling at him or something.

Mike dropped the files on the coffee table. “Just so you know,” he said casually, “I am pretty sure most of the associates think I tried to slit my own throat.”

Harvey sighed. “Is that what you came here to talk about? Your reputation in the associate pool?”

Mike’s irritation flared. “No, actually. I came here to talk about this…” He unwound the scarf from his neck.

Harvey blanched at the sight of the bite. “Shit,” he swore quietly. He got up and walked towards Mike. He extended his hand, as if to touch Mike’s neck, but pulled back at the last second. “Uh, Can I--?”

“Be my guest.”

It felt strange to have Harvey standing so close to him now. Harvey’s hands were gentle on his neck as he slightly adjusted Mike’s head. They must have looked pretty silly to any of the people walking by.  
There was silence for a long moment. Harvey dropped his hands, and Mike turned to meet his eyes.

“I am so sorry, Mike.”

These words, spoken softly, had Mike’s gut twisting alarmingly He opened his mouth to say—

“Ah, Mr. Ross, I heard you were here.”

Both of their head snapped around to see Jessica standing in the doorway. She walked in, dropping a manila envelope on top of the files Mike had brought.

“Your blood work is back, and…Oh.” She had caught sight of Mike’s neck. “That looks worse.”

“Yes, thank you for that insight,” Harvey snapped. He stepped away from them both. "What do the results say?”

Jessica’s hands had replaced Harvey’s on Mike’s neck. “Positive for O Prime alleles.”

“Both of them?”

Jessica nodded. “Homozygous. Better than we thought.”

“What does that mean?” Mike asked.

Everyone ignored him. “How could no one have known?” Harvey asked.

“It’s a recessive trait, and rare. It could have been dormant for generations—“

“Alright,” Mike shouted. Both Jessica and Harvey jumped. “Stop talking about me like I’m not even in the room. Does someone want to explain to me what the hell is going on?”

“It means you are an Omega, Mike. A descendant of the same race as Harvey and I. It’s good news, I promise you.”

Mike sat down on the couch. “I don’t understand. Should my grandmother have known?”

“She may not have known.” Jessica sat beside him. “You could have inherited this trait from your grandfather. It would not have expressed itself in your mother and father. It’s a lot to take in, I know. But believe me, this is good news.”

“It is? How?”

“It means from now on, you will have the strength of our pack to support you. A full member of a large and powerful extended network.”

Mike blinked at that statement.

“It also gives us an excellent explanation for why Harvey… lost control around you.”

“Jessica,” Harvey began, but Jessica kept talking. “I am going to let Harvey answer your questions. It’s clear that you both have a lot of talking to do.”

“You mean the bite.” Mike muttered. “You think we’re bonded?” The word sounded strange in his mouth.

“All the indications are there.” Jessica said matter-of-factly. She stood.

“Then why does my…” he called after her but she had already walked out the door. Mike sighed and turned to Harvey. “Then why does my neck look like this?”

Harvey sighed. “It’s because we’ve been apart. Normally when a… a bite like that is given, it’s during a period of… extremely close contact.”

Mike read “days of rampant sex” in the pause between the last few words. “So, what next?”

Harvey stepped closer to him. “Mike, are you sure you want to go through with this?”

Part of Mike wanted to demand a detailed explanation for what “this” meant. But he only said, “I don’t think we have much of a choice. Do we?”

Harvey shook his head. “No, we don’t.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, go back to your place. I’ll come over tonight once I’ve made some arrangements.”

“My place?” Mike was surprised. Harvey had never expressed anything but disdain for his place.  
“What’s wrong with your place?”

“It’s important that this be on your turf.” Harvey didn’t meet his eyes. “Just go, Mike. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, Harvey.” Mike went.


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

"A gentleman is simply a patient wolf"

Lana Turner

Mike went home. At least now he knew he would have answers soon. Harvey would come over tonight and they would work this out. They’d figure out how to manage this thing that was now practically tangible between them. Now that Mike thought about it, he knew there had always been something there, and this incident had just uncovered it. He was scared, but he was, in a way, also grateful for the bite. It had cemented them together. Harvey would be unable to cast him away if he screwed up.

He compulsively tidied his apartment, then decided to stock up on food. He rushed to the closest grocery store, and bought a bunch of crap he thought Harvey might like. He impulsively threw in a bottle of scotch.

When he got back to his place he put the groceries away, and sat on the couch, turning on the TV to ESPN to distract him from his relentlessly humming mind. He waited, and waited.

It was close to seven thirty by the time the doorbell finally rang. He opened the door to find Harvey standing there in jeans and a long-sleeved cotton tee shirt, a large leather duffle at his feet. Mike opened the door wide and wordlessly gestured for Harvey to come in.

Harvey looked around, giving the apartment his usual disdainful glances and then seemed to catch himself. He tucked the duffle beside the couch.

There was another moment of awkward silence. Mike sighed, “Have you eaten?”

Harvey shook his head.

“Well, I’ve got some food or we—“

“Why don’t you order that ridiculous pizza you like?” Harvey suggested. “Just get one with pepperoni on half for me.”

“Really? Cheese in the crust and everything?”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “Whatever you want.” He collapsed onto Mike’s sofa.

“Okay,” Mike muttered. He placed the order, and then pulled a beer out of the fridge for himself. “Want anything to drink? Beer? I have some scotch too. Probably not up to your usual standards but—“

Harvey looked tempted but said, “Just some water for me…Thanks” He added belatedly.

Mike got Harvey a bottle of water and sat next to him on the couch. They sat side by side for a few long moments staring at the television. Mike quietly resolved that he was not going to be the one to speak first.

He sipped his beer. Harvey drank his water. Sportscenter ended. Finally, Harvey cleared his throat and asked, “So, I am sure that you have questions.”

Mike suddenly didn’t want to talk about it. “Let’s wait till the food gets here, Okay?”

Harvey nodded, and didn’t say anything else.

When the food finally arrived and Mike dished out the pizza and they returned to the couch, eating silently. There was now a baseball game on the TV, but after staring at the screen for over 45 minutes, Mike still could not have said who was playing.

The pizza was eaten and the plates back in the sink before Harvey turned off the TV. “Mike, look, I’m sorry. I’ve screwed this whole thing up, I know.”

Mike laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, I know that too.”

“If I’d known, or even suspected that you might be one of us, I’d never—“

“You never would have hired me in the first place. I get it.”

Harvey shook his head. “No, that’s…” He trailed off. “Actually, it’s probably one of the reasons that I did hire you. Some instinctive desire to keep you close.”

“So you’re saying you didn’t know, but you kind of knew?”

Harvey snorted. “I know how it sounds, but it kind of makes sense. I can’t imagine taking that kind of risk for anyone else.” He shook his head. “Still, I should have known better.”

“How?”

“Because I am the same as you. I am one of the Found ones as well. There was no Alpha history in my family either. Jessica discovered me working in the mail room at Pearson Hardman. She was the one who recognized the signs. Why I was such a screw up, why I seemed to be my own worst enemy. She brought me in to the pack, taught me how to master my skills and sent me to Harvard. If I’d recognized the traits in you at the time, I could have done something similar for you.”

Mike frowned. “You did do something for me. You gave me a job, took a chance on me.”

“I had you lie, Mike. About yourself to everyone who knew you. At the time, I thought it was the only way. If I’d known…”

Mike was now curious. “What would have happened if you’d known?”

“Well, I couldn’t tell you right away.” Harvey paused. “I suppose I would have offered you the money as a loan or something. Gotten you a job as a paralegal. Then I’d have brought you to Jessica with my suspicions and then…Well, things would have been different.” He seemed to be considering.

“You would have gone before the council. They would have gotten you back into school maybe, or into some kind of program. You would have been taught, properly, how to deal with your instincts. You’d have been given a proper mentor.”

“Not you, then?”

Harvey laughed. “Definitely not me. They would have kept you far, far away from any unbonded Alpha.”

Mike puzzled over this. He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. Meeting Harvey, being mentored by him, was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. Despite how they ended up, he didn’t regret it.

But Harvey did, he thought, looking over the other man. That realization gave him a pang. He ducked his head.

“You couldn’t have known.” Mike raised his head. “Even I didn’t know.”

Harvey smiled ruefully. “I knew there was something about you. You got under my skin like no one else ever has.”

Mike shook his head. “Because I have some freaky DNA?”

“Just because of who you are, Mike. Everything you are.”

Mike sighed. “I don’t even know what that means. Tell me more about how it works.”

“Alpha society—“

“You keep saying ‘Alpha,’” Mike interrupted. “But you say I am an Omega. Are we different?”

Harvey considered. “Alpha society in the general sense encompasses Omegas as well. It’s just that Omegas are very rare. Either way, Alphas in New York is ruled by the New York Council. High ranking representatives from all the packs in the area are appointed to the council.”

“Are there other societies?”

“Yes, there is a large one in Los Angeles. And one in London as well. There are other smaller groups as well. Johannesburg, Sydney, Vancouver. There’s even a group out in Montana that live off the grid, as close to nature as possible, so we don’t hear from them much.”

“So they are like the hippie contingent?”

“Something like that,” Harvey laughed. “Anyway, the Council oversees all of Alpha society. There is a High Council, that governs activities worldwide. They enforce our rules, ensured that no one knows about us, and protects and fosters our members.”

“They said you could be punished for biting me.” He felt cold just thinking about it.

“Yes.”

“Pam said the punishment could be death. Would they really do that to you?”

“They have that authority.”

“But they would kill you?”

“Exile would be a more likely punishment, considering the circumstances. I would be cast out of the New York pack. If death were the sentence handed down, I would be given the chance to make arrangements and uh, ‘take the honorable way out.’”

“You mean commit suicide?”

Harvey nodded.

“Jesus.” Mike felt his stomach twist at the thought. He got up and paced around the room.

“It’s not going to happen. Mike. Let’s not talk about it. Come back here.”

Mike didn’t move. “Because Jessica says so?”

“Mike.” Harvey got up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Because you don’t want it to happen. You’re the victim. And my bonded. They won’t do anything that would upset you more.”

Mike looked away. “You didn’t want this. You didn’t want me.”

Harvey sighed. “Mike, that’s not it. I didn’t want you like that. To force you like that. If I had it to do over…”

“You’d have never invited me over. Never let me get close.”

Harvey shook his head. “No, that’s not it. I’m—“ He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m actually surprised that I lasted that long against you.” He smiled ruefully. “No, maybe, that night, if I’d realized what was going on earlier maybe I could have—“

“Chased me out sooner?” Mike suggested.

“Maybe I could have seduced you. Made it less … traumatic.”

“Seduced me?” Mike was incredulous.

“You think it wouldn’t have worked?”

Mike shook his head. “You would have seduced me. What would you have done?”

Harvey sat back on the couch. “Well we were working together, right. Maybe I’d have started by just resting my hand a little closer…here.”

He reached around and rested his hand on the back of the sofa, close to brushing against Mike’s shoulder. Then he leaned back. He was close. Closer than they had been in days. Mike practically felt himself melt back into the embrace.

“And then?” he asked unsteadily.

Harvey’s hand dropped down to the back of Mike’s neck. Mike’s eyes fluttered closed.

“Then, I might have confessed that you do do good work, Mike. And that, well, I have been fighting my attraction to you for a while.”

Mike kept his eyes closed. “Oh, yeah?”

Harvey shifted even closer. “And maybe, if you wouldn’t mind…”

Mike opened his eyes and closed the distance between them. Their lips met in a forceful impact, Harvey’s hands coming up to wrap around Mike’s shoulders.

"I would have been putty in your hands,” Mike murmured into his lips. “What happens next?”

Harvey groaned. “I would have suggested we move into the bedroom.” When Mike moved to get up, Harvey stopped him. “No, Mike. Not now. Not tonight. I would have…should have seduced you that night, but tonight, let just get used to this again.”

Mike settled back against Harvey’s side. “What do you want to do?”

Harvey sighed. “Let’s just go to bed. Together. But just sleep, Mike.” He stroked a hand through Mike’s hair. “I haven’t been able to sleep in my place since that night… with the knowledge of what I did to you. I’m exhausted.”

Mike nodded. “Okay, I am pretty tired too.”

“Thank you.” Harvey smiled. “Bathroom?”

“Right through there.”

“Thanks.” Harvey pressed his lips to Mike’s again, then got up and left the room.

Mike sighed. He caught sight of Harvey’s bag by the door, and thought he might as well bring the bag into the bedroom. As he dropped the bag on the bed, he heard an odd jangle. Curious, he glanced at the bathroom door, and zipped open the bag. He caught the gleam of sliver and pulled out a handful of leather. The chains jangled alarmingly. Stunned, he was still standing there motionless when Harvey emerged from the bathroom. He paled when he saw what Mike was holding.

“Mike, let me explain—“

“Harvey, what the _hell_ is this?”

*-*


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

"We listened for a voice crying in the wilderness. And we heard the jubilation of wolves!"

Durwood L. Allen

 

 

Mike’s mind when numbingly blank for a few blessed seconds. Dimly, in the background, he heard Harvey repeat, “Mike, I can explain--”

His brain snapped back online with its usual frightening efficiency. “Yes, Harvey, please explain why you were all ‘let’s take it slow’ a few minutes ago, but you apparently came here with a whole bunch of … _bondage_ gear in your bag! Please explain that.”

“Mike, it’s not--”

“You talked about trying to seduce me, but apparently now you think you can tie me up like a Thanksgiving turkey? You think I’ll roll over for you that easily now?”

“Mike, it’s not for you! It was for me.”

Mike blinked. “What? I mean…what?”

Harvey looked completely embarrassed, which was a new look on him. Mike almost wished he had a camera to capture the expression on his face. But his mind swerved back to the topic at hand.

Harvey was rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, the last time we were close, I attacked—assaulted you. You have no reason to trust that I wouldn’t do it again. So I was going to offer to… you know. As an expression of trust.”

“You would let me tie you up? Really?”

“I’ll let you do anything to me, Mike.” Harvey met his gaze unflinchingly. “Anything.”

Mike’s brain stuttered to a halt. Harvey’s last word seemed to be echoing around it. For a moment, there was nothing; then his brain began helpfully supplying him with half a dozen images of Harvey, stretched out on his bed, tied and willing to let Mike do anything to him.

Harvey snorted. “Apparently you like that idea.”

“Um yeah.” Mike’s voice didn’t break, but it was rather harsh. “I do.”

Harvey smiled at him, soft and vulnerable. He walked over to the bed and flopped down on it. He was wearing a tee shirt and a pair of boxer shorts.

He extended his arms out to the side. “I’m all yours.”

Mike quickly sorted out the leather cuffs,chains and clips. They quickly discovered a problem. Mike’s bed did not have a headboard so there was nowhere to connect the leather straps. Mike improvised by attaching one to the radiator and the other to the bed frame. They caused Harvey to sprawl diagonally across the bed, his tee shirt riding up to expose the lean muscle of his stomach.

Harvey watched him as he did all this, his eyes dark. Still it was incredible to see him like this. So trusting.

Mike decided that they didn’t need the ankle straps. He crawled on top of Harvey, straddling his hips. “So this is some kind of a gesture? This is you literally baring your throat for me.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mike. That’s exactly what this is.”

Mike couldn’t tell if Harvey was joking or serious. He decided that it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Harvey was here, tied up and basically helpless. And he had done this for Mike. So Mike would feel safe sleeping next to him.

Mike climbed off and stretched out beside him. “Comfy?” he asked.

Harvey squirmed on Mike’s cheap sheets. The chains clanked against the radiator. “Your bed is awful.”

Mike propped up his head. “I’m sorry this isn’t up to your usual standards.” He trailed a hand down Harvey’s chest.

Harvey leaned back and closed his eyes. “I thought we were going to sleep?”

Mike smiled. “Sure thing,” he said. He hopped out of bed and shut off the lights, then crawled back into bed. His body was wrapped awkwardly around Harvey’s, but he was more comfortable than he had felt in days.

Harvey shifted next to him.

“Are you going to be able to sleep like this?” Mike asked.

“I’m so exhausted I think I could sleep anywhere.”

"I haven’t been sleeping well either.” Mike admitted.

“Nightmares?”

“No, not really. I just kept thinking about you, you know. I’d lay here and think about you in your apartment, and wonder what you were doing. What was going on at work that I was missing. That kind of thing.” He put his head down on the pillow.

There was a silence. And then Mike asked, “Have you been having nightmares?”

He felt Harvey nod.

“About biting me?”

Harvey let out a bitter laugh. “No, about the next morning. I dream that I wake up in bed and you're beside me, dead. I’d turn to you and see that I’d actually torn out your throat.”

Mike swallowed. “You wouldn’t have done that.”

“Your faith in me is remarkable.”

“No, it’s not.” Mike propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at Harvey. “How much of that night do you remember?”

Harvey took a deep breath. “Flashes, here and there. I remember being in the bathroom, telling you to get out. I remember you **_not_ ** leaving.”

“Hey, I was worried about you,” Mike interjected.

Harvey ignored him. “I remember pinning you to the floor. Your eyes looked so blue. The taste of your blood and then… being on top of you. That’s about it.”

“You were actually quite gentle with me, considering--”

“Considering I sexually assaulted you?” Harvey cut in dryly. “And bonded us together for the rest of our lives? You are clearly rocking the Stockholm Syndrome, kid.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Serves me right for trying to make you feel better.” Despite the awkward angle he leaned over and pressed his lips to Harvey’s. Harvey kissed him back willingly. They continued like that for several moments before Harvey pulled his head away.

“Sleep, Mike. I’ll still be at your mercy in the morning.”

“I look forward to it.” Mike set his head down on Harvey’s shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

 

~*~*~*~

Mike slept hard for hours and woke just as the morning sunlight was beginning to stream through his window.

He turned his head and looked at the man sleeping next to him. Harvey was as sprawled out as he could be in his restraints. One arm pulled over his head, the other pulled to the side. He looked younger in sleep, oddly innocent.

Mike glanced down. Well, maybe not so innocent. A sizable morning erection was tenting his boxers. Mike trailed his hand down Harvey’s chest and wrapped his hand around it. Harvey moaned in his sleep but didn’t wake. Mike felt himself thicken in response.

Mike smiled to himself. He gently tugged down the boxers, exposing Harvey to his gaze. Mike had felt it that night, but he hadn’t really been in a position to look. He had a nice cock. It was long and thick, standing out proudly from a nest of light, silky pubic hair. Mike ran his hands gently up Harvey’s muscular thighs and leaned forward to lick at that perfect mushroom shaped head.

Harvey moaned again, but he didn’t seem to be stirring. It was clearly time for more drastic measures.  Mike wrapped his lips around the tip and slowly slid down his length, moaning at Harvey’s musky taste. He hollowed his cheek and pulled back.

The restraints clanked against the radiator as Harvey jerked into consciousness. “Fuck!” he murmured, raising his head to take in the sight of Mike’s mouth wrapped around his cock. “Oh god, Mike.”

Mike released him. “How’s that for a wakeup call?”

Harvey dropped his head back on the pillow. “You’re going to kill me.”

Mike smiled and went back to work. He tugged Harvey’s boxers all the way off his legs, tossing them to the floor. He then got on his knees to pull off his tee shirt. He stopped, taking in the sight of Harvey, in just a tee shirt, chained to his bed, his cock red and hard thanks to Mike’s attentions. It was intoxicating.

Harvey shifted under his gaze, drawing one foot up to rest flat on the bed, opening himself up even more. Their eyes met, and suddenly Mike had to be kissing him. He crawled up the bed, settling his hips against Harvey’s and took his mouth in a bruising kiss. Their erections rubbed together as their tongues tangled wetly, waging messy wars of invasion and retreat. Harvey was moaning brokenly into Mike’s mouth.

Mike’s lips were actually sore when he pulled back. “What do you want to do?”

Harvey tugged on his bonds and smiled up at him. “This is your party, Mike.”

Mike closed his eyes, mind running over every different scenario, including quite a few he doubt were physically possible. Then he opened his eyes and met Harvey’s.

“I want everything,” he said. “I want to do everything to you and then I want you to do it to me. The things I want are going to take _days_ , Harvey. Weeks or months even. And when it’s done I want to do it all again, in different orders--”

Harvey groaned, and jerked his hips, bringing his legs up to wrap around Mike’s waist.

“—But right now, I want you in my mouth. I want to get you nice and hard, and then I’m want to fuck you, Harvey. Will you let me?”

“Oh fuck, Mike, anything. Anything you want. Everything you want.”

Their lips met again. Then Mike pulled back and fumbled in the drawer of his bedside table, pulling out the bottle of lube he kept there and tossing it by his foot. Then grabbed his pillow. “Lift up,” he ordered and slipped it under Harvey’s hips. He slithered back down the bed and began to slowly lick Harvey’s cock, trailing the tip of his tongue around the sensitive crown as he lubed up his fingers.

Harvey spread his legs as wide as he could, and Mike pressed a finger to his entrance. As he slowly pushed in, he wrapped his lips around the head of Harvey’s cock and slid down again. Harvey’s groan echoed through the small apartment.

“Better not do that again,” he panted. “Or I’m going to be done before we start.”

Mike pulled off, and began pressing small kisses to the base of his cock. One finger became two, and then finally three. Harvey’s hips were jerking in response to the movement of his fingers.

“Are you--”

“I’m good. I’m good. Come on…”

Mike pulled his fingers out. “I just need a—“

“No, you don’t.”

Mike stopped and stared. “What?”

“Pam did blood work. We’re both fine. Now get up here and get your cock in me.”

Oh, god. The thought of fucking Harvey with nothing in between them was… Mike slammed his eyes shut. “Just so you know,” he said between gritted teeth. “I’m probably not going to last long, then.”

“Thank god for small favors. Now, come on.”

Mike slicked up his cock quickly, and then guided himself to Harvey’s hole. A few gentle thrusts, and he slid easily all the way in. Tight, wet heat enveloped him, and Mike had to squeeze the base of his cock to keep from shooting off right then. It was good, so good

Harvey wrapped his legs around Mike, and they rocked together slowly. Mike ran his hands up and down Harvey’s thighs as he undulated in and out of his lover, his partner, his bondmate.

The chains rattled again as Harvey tried to reach for him. “Mike, touch me. Please.”

Harvey was begging. Mike had never thought he would hear the great Harvey Specter beg for anything. He pulled back slightly and wrapped a hand around Harvey’s leaking cock, and began to stroke him in time with his thrusts. It wasn’t long before Harvey was shaking and crying out Mike’s name as a wet heat painted his stomach.

The feel of Harvey contracting around him pushed Mike over the edge. A few frantic thrusts later and he was spilling himself into his bondmate’s body with a sigh. Mike collapsed on top of him. He was only roused from his stupor by the clanking of the bonds.

“Mike, Mike,” Harvey repeated. “Get me out of these. I want to hold you.

Mike hastily fumbled with the straps and soon Harvey’s arms were around him, stroking up and down his back as their lips met again. The kisses were gentler, almost tender.

“You’re amazing, Mike,” Harvey whispered. He ducked his head and pressed his lips to the bite he had left nearly a week ago. “Amazing and mine.”

Mike hummed in response as drifted, allowing the afterglow to stretch out between them.

“After this,” Harvey murmured into Mike’s skin, “After you have been presented to the Council, and everything is straightened out, we should go on a trip.”

“A trip?” Mike asked sleepily.

“Wherever you want. It’s traditional after bonding.”

“Like a honeymoon?”

Harvey pinched him playfully in the side. “Where would you like to go?”

Mike thought about it. He had never really been anywhere. Money had always been tight growing up and even when his parents had been alive, his dad had never really been one for taking time off.

He thought about suggesting the Grand Canyon, but was that too prosaic? California? Would Harvey want to go to Europe someplace?

“Mike.” Harvey’s voice cut through his thoughts. “It’s not a trick question.”

“How about Disney World?”

Harvey burst out laughing. “Oh god, I just had sex with a ten year old."

“Come on, Harvey,” Mike whined, “I never got to ride Space Mountain as a kid…”

Harvey only pulled him in for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: The Council meeting!
> 
> Again, all comments/concrit welcome! Thank you for reading =)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry to have left this fic for so long without an update! Here it is. Be warned, this chapter is rather fluffy ;-). Also, I lied before - the Council meeting is actually in the next (and final) chapter. I hope you all enjoy and thank you again for reading!

 

 

 

“Live with the wolves, and you learn how to howl”

Spanish Proverb

 

Later, after a quick breakfast of eggs and toast, Harvey dragged Mike into the tiny shower.

“Just so you know,” Mike cautioned, “We only have about seven minutes of hot water.”

“That should be enough time,” Harvey replied. He grabbed Mike’s shower gel and made a face at the label. He poured shower gel over his hands and began to soap up Mike’s chest. “Turn around.”

Mike turned, and Harvey ran his hands down his narrow back, dipping in between his buttocks with one soapy finger. Mike arched his back. “Hey, warn a guy,” he protested.

Harvey laughed and continued to lazily finger Mike’s entrance, barely pushing the tip of his finger inside. Mike moaned and tried to press back against Harvey’s hand, but Harvey pulled it back and spun him around again. His lips met Mike’s as he began to lazily stroke Mike’s cock.

“Fuck, Harvey. Come on, let get out of here.”

Mike took over, soaping up Harvey in turn. A quick rinse later they both were drying each other off amid increasingly frantic kissing. Harvey manhandled Mike back to the bed, and pushed him down on it. He began to massage Mike’s thighs as he lazily mouthed at his cock.

“Don’t tease, Harvey. Come on, I want you to fuck me now.”

Harvey pulled back and grinned. “That can be arranged. Turn over.”

Mike flipped himself onto his elbows and knees, revealing the boney bumps of his spine down to his lovely ass. Harvey ducked his head and pressed a kiss to his lower back. He had spent way too long trying not to notice Mike’s ass, and how it looked in the suit pants he wore, and now here it was, perfectly presented for him. He gripped Mike’s cheeks in his hands and squeezed, smiling at Mike’s moan.

“You are very lovely, Mike,” he told his lover, leaning over to press another kiss into his spine.

“Knew you had a thing for my ass,” Mike muttered in response.

Harvey grinned. “Caught me looking, did you?”

“Once or twice.” Harvey could tell Mike was smiling without even seeing his face.

“Well, now I can look all I want.” The satisfaction was evident in Harvey’s voice. “Look… And touch.” His hands gripped and parted Mike’s cheeks. “And taste.”

“Taste?” Mike drawled. He was completely unprepared for the wet lick on his pucker. He jumped. “Oh, fuck. Harvey, I--”

He was silenced by another stroke of Harvey’s tongue. “Oh god.” He collapsed, his head in his hands. He had never imagined this. Never imagined anything so intimate it practically hurt. He let Harvey continue to lick him there for several minutes before his thumbs dipped in and began to gently pull Mike’s pucker apart so his tongue could delve even deeper. Mike’s eyes rolled back into his head. “Oh, God.”

Harvey pulled back. “You’re mine now, Mike. That means I get all of you.”

“I’m all yours, Harvey. I’ve always been yours, haven’t I?”

“Yes. Mine.” A well lubed finger pressed into him and Mike’s back arched. “My associate, my discovery, my genius...” He pushed in a second finger, then a third. “My mate. My Omega.”

“Yours, Harvey,” Mike repeated. “I’m good, so good. I want you in me now.”

Harvey guided his cock to the entrance he had prepared, then took a firm grip on Mike’s hips and thrust hard. Mike moaned, reveling in Harvey’s need for him. He arched his back, helping Harvey go deeper inside of him, reaching the spot that made his eyes roll back into his head.

Harvey moved one hand off his hip and gripped his shoulder hard, using the leverage to drive himself even harder into Mike.  It was rough, animalistic. Mike felt possessed, completely at the will of the man behind him, forcing choked moans out of his throat with every thrust.

Mike tried to balance himself so he could get a hand on his aching cock, but when he reached for himself Harvey knocked his hand away with a growl.

“No, Mike,” he bit out. “Me, I want to--” He adjusted their position and pulled Mike up so they were both on their knees, Mike’s back resting against Harvey’s chest. Harvey wrapped one arm around him and used the other to stroke Mike’s cock, still grinding his own inside of him.

It took barely a dozen strokes and Mike was coming hard, come spurting over Harvey’s hand and onto Mike’s stomach and chest. Mike slumped boneless onto the bed and Harvey gripped his hips again. It only took a few more thrusts before he was spilling himself inside Mike.

Harvey managed to pull them both onto their sides and curled up around Mike, whispering praise and dropping kisses onto his shoulder blades, his neck, whatever parts of Mike he could reach. Mike murmured happily after each kiss, and it wasn’t long before they both dropped off into sleep again.

~*~*~*~

The next few days passed in a way Mike would have considered impossible a week and a half before. While he and Harvey had been close, their relationship had always been clearly defined by work. Harvey had kept him at an arm’s length, and Mike had tried hard not to let his feelings bleed all over everything. Now, all those barriers had all disappeared, and Mike found it rather intoxicating to be center of Harvey’s undivided attention. He was still Harvey, of course. Still arrogant and snarky, but he was also so open and affectionate. He touched Mike constantly; a hand on the small of his back, on his thigh, an arm wrapped casually around his waist, kisses dropped on his neck or shoulder. They laughed, watched TV and movies while curled up on the couch, fed each other bites of food with their fingers. Mike felt that this was as close to utter bliss as he could possibly get.

On the third day, Harvey dragged him out of the apartment after breakfast. They spent a few hours wandering aimlessly around city, just enjoying the fresh air and each other’s company. Harvey took him to the neighborhood where he had grown up and told Mike stories about his childhood. They held hands. Mike wondered if she should pinch himself just to make sure this whole thing was real. He managed to resist.

In the afternoon, they found a quiet pub to have lunch.

“So, who else at the firm knows about all this stuff?” Mike asked over his salad.

“Jessica is the leader of our pack.” Harvey took a drink of his beer. “That’s why I had to go to her first after what happened. Why she’s the one who had to explain everything to you.”

Mike nodded. “She told me that.”

“Three of the other senior partners are also members: Harkins, Whislow and Martin. There are a few junior partners as well.” Harvey looked up at him. “Louis is one of them.”

“Louis?” Mike was surprised at first. “He did seem to know something was up that morning. Is that why you two don’t get along?”

Harvey sighed. “It’s complicated. Louis grew up in a pack. I didn’t. It really irks him that despite this, I’ve moved up the ranks faster than him. He still sees me as an interloper rather than a true member.”

“What about Donna?” Donna had to have known. Donna knew everything…

“Donna’s a special case. Her stepfather is a pack member, so she grew up knowing about the pack, but she’s not really a member. She’s never seemed to mind, but…”

“But what?”

Harvey rubbed his eyebrow. “She looked… hurt when I told her about you.” He looked away. “Once, there might have been the potential for something between us, but, well, it went away. At least for me, it did. But now—“

“Now she think she might have been carrying a torch for you?” Mike reached out and took Harvey’s hand.

Harvey looked back at Mike and raised his eyebrows. “’Carrying a torch?’ Really?”

“Are you making fun of me because you don’t want to answer the question?”

Harvey looked down at their joined hands. “I just think, well, the potential was there, and it’s not anymore.” Harvey shook his head. “It’ll be fine. We’ll just have to adjust.”

Mike nodded, and tightened his grip. “I know you both care about each other. It will all work out, I know it.”

Harvey smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

~*~*~*~

The next day was Sunday, and he and Harvey spent the morning in bed exchanging lazy kisses. Finally, Harvey pulled back and sighed. “I have to go back to the office tomorrow.”

Mike nodded. “I figured. I guess I might as well go in too. See if I still have a job.”

“No doubt of that.” Harvey trailed his hand down Mike’s naked back. “I need to go back to my place tonight.” Harvey looked almost shy. “Did you want to come with me? It’s closer to the office, but I’d understand if you never wanted to go back there again--”

“What are you talking about Harvey?”

“I mean, after what happened. I’d like to keep you with me. We can start looking at new places next week—“

Mike laughed and sat up. “You mean you’d give up your place for me? Come on, your place is amazing!”

Harvey looked pained. “Do you think you could be comfortable there? After what happened?”

Mike straddled Harvey’s lap. “We’re together now. We’re happy. At least--” He paused, looking done at Harvey. “Aren’t you happy?”

Harvey sat up and flipped Mike over and kissed him, hard. “I’m happy, brat.”

Mike stretched out underneath him. “Then, no reason to move. Of course I’ll go there with you.”

“I had the bedroom redone. I couldn’t sleep with the old stuff.”

“I can’t wait to see it.” Mike spread his legs and ran his hands up Harvey’s thighs in a clear invitation, but Harvey wouldn’t be deterred from conversation.

“I want you to move in, but I’ll understand if you still need your own space. We’ve been moving pretty quickly, and I don’t want you to feel pressured--”

“Harvey,” Mike interrupted. He bucked his hips, grinding his erection against Harvey’s thigh. “Do I feel freaked out to you?”

Harvey leaned down and kissed him again. “Mike,” he whispered against his lips, “Move in with me?”

Mike grinned. “I think I can be convinced.”

~*~*~*~

Mike woke before the alarm the next morning. This was his second time waking up in Harvey’s bed, and much, much better than the first time. Harvey liked to sleep on his stomach, Mike had discovered, while he usually sprawled out on his back. As a result, they could comfortably cuddle up in their sleep, Harvey’s head resting on the pillow just above his shoulder, an arm flung across his waist. Mike closed his eyes and let the reality of where he was and who he was with sink in. He suspected he had a goofy smile of his face.

The alarm went off about twenty minutes later. Harvey pulled away to turn it off, then immediately rolled back on top of Mike, pressing kisses into his neck.

Mike laughed. “Good morning to you too. You want the first shower?”

Harvey shook his head. “You take it. I’m going to hit the gym. We’re leaving at 7:30 – Don’t make me late.” He punctuated this warning with a hard nip on Mike’s jaw, and laughed at Mike’s indignant yelp.

They caught a cab to the office, and parted by the elevator. Mike steeled himself as he made his way to his desk. A strange hush fell over the bullpen when he got there and he felt the stares of the other associates.

“Hey Mike,” Harold said tentatively. “Welcome back.”

Mike smiled at him. “Thanks, Harold. Glad to be back.”

Another awkward silence threatened to descend when Louis walked by and caught sight of him.

“Mike,” Louis drawled. “Glad to see you back.” He dropped a giant stack of briefs on his desk. “I’ll need these proofed by the close of business.”

Mike smiled. At least some things would not change. “You got it,” he answered cheerfully.

Louis actually patted him on the shoulder before he walked away.

Mike plowed through the briefs, and eventually the normal chatter in the bullpen returned. He dropped off the briefs with Norma at three-thirty and headed towards Harvey’s office.

Donna looked up as he approached. “Mike,” she said with a smile, “Good to see you back.”

Mike was relieved by the smile. He didn’t want things to be awkward with Donna. He knew that she cared about Harvey and always would, despite whatever hopes she may have harbored for him. “Hi Donna. I’m glad to be back. Can I see him for a minute?”

She waved him in. Mike felt his heart thump strangely when Harvey looked up and smiled at him. They had woken up in bed together that morning, and yet Mike had still missed him all day. What was happening to him?

“Hey, how has your day been?”

“Better now.” Harvey grinned at him. “You finish Louis’s busy work?”

“I proofed about 100 briefs, but he should be happy.”

“Good, now you can start doing real work. Harkins finished up the Venture Limited merger paperwork, but now we need to re-draft all the by-laws. You can get started on those.” He stopped for a moment. “I’d let you work in here, but--”

“No,” Mike interrupted. “I can do it at my desk. I get it.”

Harvey nodded thankfully. “We’ve got a reservation tonight at seven. I’ll meet you by the elevator.”

“See you then.” Mike turned, and headed back to the bullpen. It would take a while, but they’d find a workable rhythm for their relationship inside the office. And outside of it? Mike grinned. Outside, he knew they were all set.


	8. Chapter 8

“For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”

Rudyard Kipling

 

Life at the office quickly went back to normal. There were a few whispers in the bullpen and some snide implications made, but no one had the courage to say anything outright. And they really had no cause. Mike’s work was still top-notch, and he worked ridiculously long hours to make up for the work he had missed.

But, once he left the office, life was very nearly perfect. When he got back to Harvey’s place, no, _their_ place, Harvey was there waiting for him, usually with a warm dinner and a cold drink. They would sit close to each on the couch, and talk or watch movies and just be with each other. Mike slept in Harvey’s arms even night, and usually woke to a warm kiss and a promise of breakfast. Mike was aware that Harvey was shamelessly spoiling him.

“You know,” he said one morning, “You don’t have to do this.”

“Do what?” Harvey asked, spooning some scrambled eggs onto his plate.

“This.” Mike gestured to the table. “Cooking for me. I did manage to feed myself before we were together, you know.”

Harvey scoffed. “Barely.” He pressed the plunger down on the French press.

“Is all this because you feel guilty?”

Harvey stopped and looked at him. “Guilty? About what?”

“You know? About this.” Mike gestured to his neck.

Harvey walked around the kitchen island and stood behind Mike’s chair. He wrapped his arms around Mike’s chest. “Why would I feel guilty about this?” He pressed his lips to Mike’s neck. Mike shivered in response.

“Okay, point. But Harvey--”

“I’m your Alpha, Mike. It’s my job to take care of you. You’ve been working hard, so it’s only right that I get to pamper you a little.”

“Pamper me?” Mike grinned as he picked up a slice of bacon. It was nice and crispy, just the way he liked it. “Ah, I see. So once the workload goes down, I am back to cold cereal and instant coffee?”

“Please,” Harvey scoffed. “You live with me now. I have standards.”

Mike chomped down on his bacon. Harvey poured the coffee and added the cream for him. He thought about what Harvey had said. “So, what’s my job?”

Harvey came back around the table and kissed Mike’s neck again.

Mike sighed. “Seriously, Harvey. I don’t want to be some sort of kept man.”

“You’re not going to be kept. In fact, I plan on you supporting me after I retire.” Mike laughed. “And when you do, well, the least I can do is make you breakfast. This is just practice.”

“You’ll never retire.” Mike turned and pressed his face into Harvey’s chest. “I’m going to be wheeling you out of court in a wheelchair when you’re 80.”

“That will be your job, then.” Harvey pulled back and looked Mike in the eye.  “Mike, this isn’t quid pro quo. I am going to take care of you, and you are going to take care of me. Like the time you pulled me off the edge with the Danner case. We fit together. That’s why we work. Why we’ve always worked.” He smiled and kissed Mike again.

Yeah, so pretty much perfect.

The only cloud on the horizon was the looming date of the next council meeting. Just the thought of it made Mike’s stomach clench with anxiety. Both Harvey and Jessica had tried to reassure him, stating that the meeting was just a formality. But Mike wasn’t convinced. This Council was supposedly all-powerful organization. They could take Harvey away from him.

The night before the meeting, Harvey made him an appointment with his personal masseuse, a tiny Asian woman named Miri with incredibly strong hands. She tried (unsuccessfully) for an hour and a half to work out the knots that had developed in his shoulders and back.

The next day at work, Harvey kept him in his office all day. Mike sat on the couch and tried to read the same brief over and over again. Donna brought them both lunch that they picked at unenthusiastically. At five, they gave up and went home. Mike showered and dressed in his best suit, taking a long time to stare at himself in Harvey’s bathroom mirror. Harvey was waiting for him in the foyer. He wrapped an arm around his waist. “Let’s go,” he whispered softly into Mike’s ear.

Ray was waiting for them with the car. Harvey pushed Mike into the seat ahead of him and then climbed in afterwards. Mike later wouldn’t be able to remember the drive, but he did recalled the steady pressure of Harvey’s hand in his.

~*~*~*~

The Council meeting was not what Mike had expected…

Ray drove them to a three story Colonial style brick building. It was tucked away in a side street in Manhattan. It reminded Mike of one of those exclusive private clubs that you occasionally spot in the city. He supposed that was pretty much what it was. And he was now a member, he realized with a pang of surprise.

The doorman nodded to Harvey and held open the door. They crossed through a small entrance hall into a huge rom with a very high ceiling. The ceiling was ornately decorated with a mural of wolves and two massive wrought-iron chandeliers. The far wall was dominated by a huge marble fireplace, flanked on both sides with heavy wooden double doors.

A string quartet played in one corner of the room, and black and white clad servers passed trays of appetizers. It looked more like a flashy cocktail party than anything. There were at least 60 people milling about.

“Holy crap,” Mike murmured as they stepped inside. “This is even fancier than The Harvard Club.”

“With a more exclusive membership.” Harvey caught sight of someone on the other side of the room. He squeezed Mike’s arm, whispered that he would be right back, and stepped away.

Mike walked around the outer edges of the room and gawked at the paintings hanging on the walls. He was no art expert, but they all looked old and expensive. He was so engrossed in what he suspected was a Turner that he started when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

 “Oh, hi Dr. Barnes.”

She gave him a sunny smile. “Pam, please. Good to see you, Mike.”

“Thanks, you too. This place is crazy. Are all the meetings like this?”

Pam laughed. “Not all, but most. The really fancy ones also have a formal dinner, but those are only twice a year. How is your neck doing?”

Mike’s hand flew to his throat self-consciously. “It’s fine… good. All healed up. Barely a scar.”

“Mind if I take a look?”

Mike glanced around. “Here?”

“We can step into the Council Chamber.” She gestured to one of the sets of doors flanking the fireplace. “No one will be in there yet.”

Mike followed her into a room that resembled a small courtroom. It was heavily paneled in dark wood. There was a raised bench with three seats at the far end. It front of it were two large heavy wooden tables, and there was even a bar, separating two rows of gallery seats.

“Whoa.” Mike stopped and stared for a moment, taking it all in.

“Pretty fancy, huh? This is where council business is generally heard. There’s a less formal meeting room on the other side of the hall.”

“Is this…” Mike hesitated. “Is there where--”

“This is where Jessica will present you to the Council, yes.” Pam answered Mike’s unspoken question. “The gallery will be closed, though. It’ll just be the Council heads, you, Harvey, Jessica and me.”

“You?” Mike turned to her. “You’re going to be here too?” It would be nice to have another familiar face around.

“Of course,” Pam replied cheerfully. “I have to give medical testimony about the bite. Speaking of…” She nudged him purposefully, and Mike began to undo his tie. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled his collar away. Pam put her hand on his chin and angled his head. “Oh yes, that healed up very nicely. Very good.” She traced the scar with her finger and Mike winced.

“Sorry.” Mike stepped back and put his hand up to cover it. “It’s not sensitive or anything. It’s just…” Mike tried to think of a way to explain. It just didn’t feel right to have anyone but Harvey touching him there. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry Mike. You’re right. That’s only for your Alpha.”

Mike re-buttoned his shirt and retied his tie.

“Well,” Pam went on. “That’s definitely a mating bite.”

“Is that good?”

“It certainly presents a strong argument,” Pam replied cryptically.

They went back out into the hall. As soon as they did, Mike scanned the area for Harvey, He quickly found him, talking to two more familiar faces. With a smile on his face, he excused himself from Pam and hurried across the room. Louis and Donna were chatting with Harvey.

“Hey guys,” he said as he joined them.

“There he is,” Harvey smiled. He wrapped am arm around Mike’s waist. “Where did you go?”

“Pam corralled me for a medical exam,” Mike explained.

“Mike, good to see you.” Louis extended his hand formally, like he hadn’t dumped 20 briefs on Mike’s desk that morning. Mike shook his hand and then kissed Donna on the cheek.

“Donna, you look beautiful.” She was wearing a stunning blue dress.

“Thanks, Mike.” Donna smiled. “We thought you could use another friendly face. Plus, I love the food at these things.” She swiped another hors d'oeuvre from a passing server.

Everyone chuckled politely. Louis began to lecture Mike about the history of the building and the architect. Mike’s mind automatically recorded the details, but he mostly looked around unseeing. He was jolted back to the present when Jessica joined them.

“Good evening everyone.” Jessica said. “I am afraid I need to steal Harvey and Mike.”

“Already?” Harvey asked.

“We’re up first,” She told them. “I requested a special session.”

Mike blanched. “I saw the room. This is going to be like court.”

Harvey squeezed Mike’s shoulder.

“A bit,” Jessica smiled. “But you don’t have to worry. You are going to have a great lawyer.”

Donna and Louis both cheerfully wished them good luck, and they began to make their way across the room.

“So Donna comes to these things too?” Mike whispered to Harvey.

“Not usually. Louis brought her as his guest. Said we could use the additional support.”

Mike paused. “That was… surprisingly nice of him.”

“He’s not all bad. Plus he enjoys cozying up to Donna. Win-Win.”

They walked into the room that Mike had just been in with Pam. Now, there were four people seated up at the high bench, along with a young woman with a laptop set up in the court stenographer’s seat. They stepped through the bar and took a seat at the long table in front of the bench.

The three men and one woman at the bench were conversing quietly. Finally, the man on the far right cleared his throat loudly. “Well, shall we call this session to order?”

Silence fell over the room.

The man began, “Mr. Ashcroft and myself are representing the New York society. In light of the special circumstances, we have invited Ms. Lange,” the woman nodded at them from behind her thick glasses, “from Los Angeles and Mr. Holmes” the man on the far left raised his hand, “from London to sit in.”

Mike’s heart sank. If they had invited extra people, that had to be a bad sign, right? He glanced at Harvey, but his attention was focused on the bench.

“Ms. Pearson,” the man began. Mike read the name on the plaque below his seat. Hamilton. “We have reviewed the brief you provided about the, ah… new addition to your pack. Perhaps you could just summarize the general situation for the minutes?”

Jessica stood, and began, “Gentlemen, earlier this month, a member of my pack initiated a mating bite with a heretofore unknown omega. They are both present today, and I respectfully ask you to admit this Omega, Michael Ross, into our society and confirm the bond present between them.”

There was a brief silence, and then Mr. Ashcroft stated, “This Omega should have been presented before any mating bites took place.”

Jessica gave him and Harvey a tight smile, before turning her attention back to the bench. “Yes, and under normal circumstances that would have taken place. However, the member of my pack, due to his close proximity with Mr. Ross, and being unaware of his status, experienced a Frenzy and the mating bite took place before a presentation could occur.”

“A Frenzy?” asked Ashcroft. “That is highly unusual.”

“But not unheard of,” interjected Ms. Lange.

“No, no that is true,” Ashcroft allowed. “Not unheard of.”

“I presume you have medical evidence?” This from Mr. Holmes.

“Of course,” Jessica stated. “Dr. Barnes is here to give her professional medical evaluation.”

Pam stood, and began to reel off a bunch of medical jargon that Mike quickly blanked on. She did answer several questions and returned to her seat with the judges nodding satisfactorily.

“Mr. Specter, please rise.”

Harvey stood, buttoning his suit jacket.

“Did you enter a Frenzy on the night of this incident?”

“I can’t diagnose myself, Your Honors. I can only describe what the incident felt like.”

“Yes, we’ve read the written account you have provided.” Hamilton flipped through the papers in front of him.

Mike looked up at Harvey, surprised. He hadn’t realized Harvey wrote out an account.

“And you are prepared to pledge yourself to Mr. Ross?”

“Yes.” Harvey looked at Mike. “Mike… Mr. Ross is the most important person in my life. I cannot imagine my life without him.”

“Indeed. Well, I think we should have a few words with Mr. Ross privately now.”

Mike looked up, alarmed. But Harvey and Jessica just nodded, as if they had been expecting this. They stood headed for the door with Pam, Harvey glancing back at him.

Mike stood and faced the court.

“You may sit, Mr. Ross.”

Mike sat, keeping his hands tightly clenched at his sides.

Ms. Lange looked at him and smiled. “Mr. Ross. I just was to assure you there is nothing for you to be anxious about. We just need to ask a few questions.”

Mike forced his hands to unclench. “I’m sorry. This is all kinda new to me.”

Hamilton smiled. “I would imagine the past few weeks have been quite overwhelming.”

“That would be one word for it.”

There was a shuffling of papers.

“Why don’t you tell us, in your own words, what happened?”

“We were working late. Harvey suddenly got up and locked himself in the bathroom. I thought he was sick. I asked if he needed any help and he told me to leave. As I was packing up to go, he came out and…” Mike took a deep breath. “He, um. He didn’t look like himself. There was something different. I asked him a question and he didn’t answer me. It was very strange. Then I tried to leave and he…”

There was a silence. “Yes, I think we get the idea.” Mr. Holmes said in his clipped British accent. “What did you do the next day?”

“When I woke up, Harvey was still asleep. I left, went home, took a shower and then went to work.”

“Just to satisfy our curiosity, can you tell us why you decided to go to work? After a traumatic event like that, I think you would have been rather justified in calling in sick.”

Mike shook his head, remembering that morning. “To be honest, I really don’t know. I just thought I would go to work and pretend it never happened. I did consider calling the police, but I couldn’t get Harvey in trouble.”

“Why not?” This from Ashcroft.

“He wasn’t himself. I could see that. I didn’t want him to get into trouble. I don’t want to get him into trouble.”

“You considered yourself close to Mr. Specter at the time of the incident.”

“He was… is my boss. We worked together closely.” Mike swallowed hard. “He took a chance on me when no one else would.”

Ms. Lange cleared her throat and asked, “So was it just gratitude you felt at the time. Or something more?”

Oh hell. Apparently Mike had to confess his deepest feelings to a bunch of strangers. He shrugged and gave up trying to hold it all in. “Well, I’m pretty sure I was in love with him then. Not that I thought anything between us was possible. I was happy enough just to be near him, see him work, be invited into his home…”

“Yes, that’s always the dangerous part, isn’t it?” Mr. Holmes asked cryptically. “Being in that personal space.”

Before Mike could answer, Ms. Lange cut in. “Well, Mr. Specter had no idea he was inviting an Omega in. Mr. Ross’s status was unknown.”

“Oh, I agree with you, my dear,” Holmes answered smoothly. “I was just pondering. I wouldn’t expect even the strongest Alpha to be able to resist an unbonded Omega in their intimate spaces.

Ms. Lange turned back to Mike. “And how do you feel about Mr. Specter now?”

“He’s my whole world,” Mike stated clearly. “If anything happened to him, I don’t know what I would do.”

The Council heads looked at each other and nodded. Mr. Hamilton pressed a button on his desk. “Bring the others back in.”

The side door opened and Harvey, Jessica and Pam shuffled back in. Mike stood up as did, and Harvey squeezed Mike’s hand tightly under the table. “Well, the medical evidence is quite clear, as well as the prior… intimacy between Mr. Ross and Mr. Specter. Since the Frenzy is unlikely to be repeated, I believe at this point we can formally acknowledge the bond between them and welcome Mr. Ross into our society. Agreed?”

There were murmurs of agreement, but Mr. Holmes cleared his throat and stated, “Yes, I agree. Though I do propose, however,  that Mr. Ross be assigned a mentor. Someone not in his own pack.” He smiled. “It is handy to have someone with an outside perspective that can be relied on. Any objections?”

“Agreed. We will identify an individual and have him contact you, Mr. Ross. Just as another resource for you.”

Mike nodded blankly. “So, that’s it?” His knees felt weak.

“That’s it. Congratulations. We will officially introduce you at the next cyclical meeting. As for now, I think we can adjourn.”

*~*~*~*

Mike was so relieved that he just wanted to go home and collapse, but Jessica insisted on taking them out to dinner. It was almost bizarre to Mike after all the stress of the past week he was now calmly sitting in a rather upscale restaurant with Harvey Jessica, Pam, Donna, Louis and two of the other Pearson Hardman partners that were pack members, along with their wives. Mike was forced to endure 4 separate courses, with Harvey trying his best to eat without removing his hand from Mike’s thigh. Mike probably would have found the conversations flying around the table interesting had he not been distracted by the overwhelming relief that was still coursing through him.

It occurred to him that Harvey had been putting up a good show for him, but that he had actually been… well, not nervous. The great Harvey Specter does not succumb to nerves. But he hadn’t quite been as sure of the result as he had pretended. Now, his relief was evident. He kept shooting Mike quick glances and shy smiles. The atmosphere around the table was giddy, almost gleeful. Jessica and Evan Whislow, one of the other partners in the pack were discussing an upcoming case, with occasional inputs from Harvey and Seth Martin. Louis and Donna were having a semi-serious argument about Orlando Bloom’s current revival of _Romeo and Juliet_ on Broadway. Pam was chatting with the partners’ wives.

As the food was cleared away and the coffee brought out, Harvey’s hand migrated from Mike’s knee to the back of his neck. Finally, finally the evening seemed to be wrapping up. Whislow and Martin left with their wives.  Pam got a call and had to leave to check on a patient. The rest lingered over coffee until Donna said she needed to go and Louis offered to share a cab. They drifted out, still arguing about the play.

Jessica smiled as she paid the check. “Well, another crisis successfully resolved. Let’s try to make it six months before the next one, shall we?”

As she got up to leave, Harvey kissed her on the check. “Thank you, Jessica. I owe you one.”

“I’d say you owe me four.” She glanced at Mike. “Mr. Ross, I leave you in your Alpha’s hands. Have a good weekend, gentlemen.”

“Thank you, Jessica.” Mike called to her retreating back. He turned to Harvey, “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to tell me you really weren’t nervous?”

Harvey pulled his jacket off the back of the chair. “It was in the bag the whole time.”

“Ha ha. Harvey? Take me home. I think we need to have some celebratory sex.”

Harvey smiled. “Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Thank you all so much for sticking with me. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. As always, all comments/concrit welcome!


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